Democratic News

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a statement on the Senate floor today, Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV called on his colleagues to pass a clean FAA bill extension to keep America’s aviation system in operation until Congress can negotiate a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The commercial truck and bus industry is a vital part of our nation’s economic strength, allowing goods, services, and people to travel throughout the country. This is especially true in West Virginia, where people and businesses rely on a safe, efficient highway transportation network to support a rural economy.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Senate Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard Subcommittee today convened a hearing on lessons in prevention, response, and restoration from the Gulf oil spill. The hearing examined the ongoing response to and lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In addition, the Subcommittee addressed the continuing challenges relevant agencies and stakeholders face in the wake of the spill, the state of progress of damage assessment and restoration activities, and recommendations for improving the nation’s oil spill prevention and response capacity, and ensuring the long term successful restoration in the Gulf.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The goal of today’s hearing is to get an update on the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent leak that covered 1,600 miles of the Gulf Coast with oil. It’s unacceptable to me that more than a year after the worst environmental disaster in the Gulf, the responsible parties have not yet been held fully accountable. The Gulf of Mexico—the people, the coast, and the wildlife, is still waiting to be fully restored—and may never be.